Iron Dynasty, our fusion of oriental fantasy and steampunk, what we lovingly call Heavy Metal Oriental Action, is a full setting book we'll be releasing this summer! It's gone through numerous refinements and iterations and is now going through a final editing pass before it moves to layout. All the art is in and we might be persuaded to reveal a few pieces...

This is a rich world designed by yours truly with Dave Olson taking lead on integrating the setting with the system and ably assisted by Jeff Scifert. I also regularly poked my nose in and meddled, to keep everything on track and true to the vision. The adventures you can have in Konoyo will literally knock your socks off. Do you want to fight crazed onmoyoji or battle clockwork ninja? Of course, you do!

We'll be happy to field any and all questions. Talk to us, will ya? C'mon, make some noise!

Hum, bold choice. Intriguing. I like bold settings. I can't wait to see what it will look like. OK, since you seem ready to answer some questions, I'll shoot first:

Edit: arf, too slow, second.

1. How much big a setting are we talking about? 100 pages, 200, more?

2. What will the book actually contain? The setting itself and only, or some dedicated rules, or even one or two scenarios?

3. Will it be available in print? In PDF? Both?

4. Oriental steampunk is indeed a daring choice. What kind of relations are there between technology and "more traditional" magic? Do they oppose, as in Arcanum, or do they mingle well together, as in the Iron Kingdoms? Basically same question regarding religions ... is there some sort of clash between ancient beliefs and modern culture/science?

5. Is the "oriental" part Chinese-based, Japanese-based, or is it some sort of mix as in Rokugan?

6. Who did the art?

I have a host of other questions, particularly about what the setting contains, but that would be a little bit too much to post at once. Do you plan to release some kind of short preview?

A0. Absolutely. We have an exclusive license to produce Fantasy Craft products with the official logos. As such, Iron Dynasty is fully compatible with the latest iteration of Fantasy Craft and you could certainly introduce whatever elements you want from the core system with little issue, though some races would be rather odd, since it's a human dominated society. However, I think it's cool when people take a setting and make it their own. I always have and would expect nothing less from the creative folks on these boards.

Q1. How much big a setting are we talking about? 100 pages, 200, more?

Q2. What will the book actually contain? The setting itself and only, or some dedicated rules, or even one or two scenarios?

A2. Konoyo (the world) is comprised of nine provinces. There is an overview map and maps showing major settlements and the like. Details are given on the various provinces with their cultural variations, and there are details on all the settlements and what-not. There are seven campaign frameworks, adventure generators, monsters, lots of NPCs, creature generators, the whole-shebang. While we don't give specific scenarios, we give you all the tools you need to craft them. Existing FC classes are holistically integrated into the setting, there are some brand new ones, such as the ganso (inventor), and there are some nifty new expert classes we've introduced.

Q3. Will it be available in print? In PDF? Both?

A3. Both. We traditionally offer PRINT+PDF Pre-Order Bundles.

Q4. Oriental steampunk is indeed a daring choice. What kind of relations are there between technology and "more traditional" magic? Do they oppose, as in Arcanum, or do they mingle well together, as in the Iron Kingdoms? Basically same question regarding religions ... is there some sort of clash between ancient beliefs and modern culture/science?

A4. Thanks. I just want you all to know we're not jumping on the latest steampunk craze. I have loved it for a long time (since first seeing it on The Wild Wild West as a kid) and our first setting was RunePunk which is dark steampunk fantasy. In the Iron Dynasty, there is a push-pull relationship with technology and magic as it has recently come to the fore. Many people are coming to grips with the strange technology which is mainly in the hands of the provincial army with such things as kikai (giant metal war machines) and firearms restricted to military and nobility. At present, though makoto may beseech kami for aid with prayer, many believe the gods have left man to their own devices. Some people follow the old paths, some follow the new, but there is a fundamental breakdown of the caste system, allowing players to focus on the fun and adventure offered up by oriental fantasy while those who want to bring it to the fore may do so. The aim was mass appeal without compromising detail.

Q5. Is the "oriental" part Chinese-based, Japanese-based, or is it some sort of mix as in Rokugan?

A5. Our setting is based on Japanese history infused with myth and my own warped sensibilities. If you were going to historically place it, it would roughly be in the Sengoku period (when you add in steampunk and magic, things get a bit skewed, however.) It's been in development for a number of years, and when Fantasy Craft was launched, I had a chat with Pat and Alex at Gen Con in '09 and we thought it would be a great fit for the system. My Blurry crew knew it would take awhile to get up to speed on the system and work through the process, which is one of the reasons we launched the Old School Fantasy line, so we could get our hands dirty, get to know you, and provide some great traditional fantasy while we sorted out the details on Iron Dynasty.

Q6. Who did the art?

A6. A number of folks you'll recognize, but I'll name just one I know you guys know: Ben McSweeney, we commissioned him to do the weapons and armor and they are fantastic. Yes, ALL those strange, oriental weapons are illustrated!

Q7.Do you plan to release some kind of short preview?

A7. Certainly. We're starting to bang the drums about the setting and we'll be releasing some appetizers as we build up to the release.

I'll add a couple of liner notes for you here at the end:

The setting came out originally for Savage Worlds earlier this year and has been in development since '06, though I originally conceptualized it in '04. We already have a full line of support products written and slated for release, so there will be no shortage of guidebooks and adventures for those wanting to grab something and go. One of the really great things I absolutely love about Fantasy Craft is the sliding DC, so every adventure is suitable for everybody.

Best,

Sean

P.S. Thanks for the thoughtful questions. I look forward to fielding more!

Just a quick note - I got to see the Savage Worlds version of the Iron Dynasty guide, and this is a very very cool setting. Between the work I saw there and the rather good Old School Fantasy adventures, I think we Fantasy Craft fans are going to get a great book this summer.

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The above may be conjecture, deliberate paraphrase, or outright bullshit.

Just a quick note - I got to see the Savage Worlds version of the Iron Dynasty guide, and this is a very very cool setting. Between the work I saw there and the rather good Old School Fantasy adventures, I think we Fantasy Craft fans are going to get a great book this summer.

Thanks for the vote of confidence and a nice nod to our previous releases!

I appreciate everyone's enthusiasm about Iron Dynasty. We were wondering what kind of reception to expect, and you've allayed our concerns.

Quote from: Glacialis

Will you guys be at GenCon? Would love to chat/stop by and pick up the setting.

The plan is to be there. We won't have a booth this year, but we'll be wandering around the Studio 2 and Crafty Booths which are located in the same block. We'd love to meet you, and talk games!

Sounds awesome. I see the SW version of the book already has excellent feedback on DTRPG. I also noticed a few supplements and adventures. Do you plan to release these in a FC compatible version as well?

Sounds awesome. I see the SW version of the book already has excellent feedback on DTRPG.

Yes. It's been very well received. Kurt Weigel (of Game Geeks fame) dropped me a line last week and said he just wrapped up a video review of Iron Dynasty. It should be going up soonish. If you guys are interested, I'll keep you posted.

I also noticed a few supplements and adventures. Do you plan to release these in a FC compatible version as well?

Absolutely! I've already got the crew working on developing them for Fantasy Craft. When Iron Dynasty launches, you can be assured of getting the same regular releases enjoyed by the Savages.

As an aside, parallel to the FC development of Iron Dynasty, I got ahead of the curve and penned out nine guidebooks and nine adventures, so there should be no lack of support. (And I've got some other ideas I want to explore moving forward.)

Since I'm on a Drake kick lately, will they be in the setting? I know that western-style dragons would be out of place, but seeing the Celestial Messenger species feat from the Adventure Companion made me think of asian dragons. Playable or not, just looking for info.

Sorry about the delayed response. My computer crash and, though I had redundancy systems in place, I've been having to deal with data migration as well as keeping the production schedule on track and prep for Origins. Whew! I think I'm caught up now (for the moment).

Drakes aren't intrinsic to the setting at present. In fact, the setting is humancentric by default. However, as Iron Dynasty is in line with the core rules, it's possible to bring in any race you'd like. Some races are alluded to and could be easily added with little difficulty.

A4. Thanks. I just want you all to know we're not jumping on the latest steampunk craze. I have loved it for a long time (since first seeing it on The Wild Wild West as a kid) and our first setting was RunePunk which is dark steampunk fantasy. In the Iron Dynasty, there is a push-pull relationship with technology and magic as it has recently come to the fore.

Can you expand on the relationship between tech and magic? Not sure what you mean by push-pull relationship.